Metroid: Delta Chronicles
by 8bit Ghost
Summary: A Space Pirate who sees things the others don't. He Sees the mistakes. He Sees the wrongdoings. But he cannot see his destiny. Follow the story of Delta 23831 as his destiny becomes clearer and clearer, among friends and enemies.
1. Cycles That Never End

Hello. you may know me as the author of Samus Aran and the War of Eternity, Hosted here on this website. This is a second Experimental Fanfiction that may not keep together. please read it as it is continuously updated.

Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo or Metroid, or any other franchises/characters by them. if there is a character in this story that you do not recognise, then you may not know everything about Metroid, or the character may belong to me.

Enjoy!

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Metroid: Delta Chronicles

Prologue

Warmth. Security. Sound. Loud Sound. Pain. More Pain. More Sound. More Pain. Cold. Pain. Sound. I make Sound. Pain. Fall. Pain. I make more Sound. Pain. Sound. Silence. Up. Down. Solid under Me. I Look around. Shapes around Me. Shapes Frighten. I make Loud Sound. Pain. I Silence. Shape carries Me. Shape puts Me Down. Shape puts something in front of Me. Strange Smell. Sleep.

The newborn succumbed to sleep as the anesthetic filled its lungs. As it silently cooed while sleeping, the figure who gave the little child the anesthetic placed the delivering hose away and began to wash its hands. After the blood was wiped from its hands, it began to cart away the sleeping baby. As it stepped into the light, the baby began to squirm. Groaning, the figure quickly carted the child to another figure, which took upon the form of a humanoid lizard. The creature turned to the figure with the cart, who also took upon the same form as him. The lizard-like creature pulled out a small device and pressed a button on its surface, causing numbers to quickly flash upon its screen. As the lizard with the cart came to a halt, so did the numbers. The lizard looked up at the other one, and spoke with a guttural voice.

"So, how's this one?" he asked the cart-pusher.

"It seems to be fine. There aren't any signs of anencephaly or other mutations, and there aren't any signs of disease, either."

"Alright. Lemme check the stats."

The one lizard pulled out a holographic screen from a table behind him. He began to scan the child's small form with a large, cup-shaped device. Numbers ran across the holo-screen, and displayed various information.

"Male, 10.34 pounds, heart rate at 4 bps, average body temperature at 84 degrees Fahrenheit. Just your average healthy infant male."

"What's his title?" The other asked.

The lizard pulled out the same small device as before, and read what had appeared on its screen.

"Um…This guy's name is Delta 23831"

"Alright, gimme the tag."

The lizard pressed a small button on the device, and a collar appeared on a podium nearby. Picking up the collar, the lizard fastened it to the infant's neck. On it was the number that the lizard read earlier: Delta 23831. The lizard leaned in close to the infant. He had greenish-gray skin that had many purple dots scattering its surface. His back came to a sudden hunch at his neck, leading to his lizard-like head. The child had yet to grow fangs like the adults around it, but there were already signs of small nubs growing in for his teeth. His small three-fingered hands grasped at nothing, reaching to things in his dreams. His small dinosaur-like legs were chubby, but had signs of already strong muscles underneath, as so did his arms. The adult lizard grinned, and whispered in his ear.

"Welcome, kid, to Space Pirate society."

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Part One: Larval Stage

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Chapter One: Cycles That Never End

I watched as two kids beat eachother up over on the other side of the cafeteria. Apparently, one of them had stolen a morsel of food from the other one. From what I had gathered, stealing from one of your own species was a felony of high degree. I was guessing that Pi 31415 was the thief; he had recently been given a penalty of 50% reduced rations for a decacycle. Poor kid. I looked down at my own food. A chunk of solid gray vitamins and minerals served as our main meal, while on the side was a carton of water and a small portion of blueroot. According to our instructors, blueroot is considered a delicacy, and that we were lucky to have it. I took a bite of the blueroot, and spat it out immediately. It tasted very similar to what leaked out of my ear holes during a humid day. I couldn't believe that people actually LIKED this stuff. Of course, I had to eat it, since wasted food was also considered a crime. I shoveled the last of my lunch into my mouth and washed it down with the water. Placing my plate in the dish pile by the exit, I stood patiently in line for our next lesson. As more kids lined up behind me, I could see that the fight between the two kids was becoming more and more violent. Soon, I could even hear them.

"I'll give you one last chance to give back that food, you thief!"

"No! You gave it to me! Why should I give it back?"

"Stop lying! You stole that right off of my plate!"

"You said I could have it since you had two of them! Stop hitting me!"

The kid claiming he was robbed threw a violent blow at the other kid's face, sending him and the chunk of nutrients flying. His face hit the wall behind him, and he fell to the floor, unconscious. I grimaced as I could see a puddle of green blood form around the kid's head as he sat there. As the other kid munched away on his spoils, he kicked the other kid violently in the stomach, and walked into our line. I closed my eyes, and hoped the best for the poor unconscious youth. Soon, our "Squad Leader" came in, and led us to our next lesson. We left the cafeteria and marched through the orange and brown hallways of the facility.

As we made our way further through the complex, we passed a large window. I looked through it as we passed by. Brown clouds peppered with orange lightning filled the sky, and large rusted towers reached through the clouds. Several more short facilities were visible outside, along with a few landing stations for ships. The tunnel that the transport tram ran through could be seen as well. Everything else was pipes. They always made me wonder what was inside of them, since there were so many types of them. Last I could see was the rain. According to our instructors, the rain was very dangerous to walk in, since it was composed of acid. This confused me very much. How in the world did the acid get up there in the first place? I dropped the question as we reached the end of the window and continued to walk through the halls.

Soon, we made our way to the next lesson: Sciences. Our Squad Leader pulled a small flat device from his belt and placed it on the door to our room. The door, which had been glowing a light blue a moment ago, turned into a steely gray as the device sparked against its surface. He ushered us into the room when the door opened, and it quickly closed behind as the last of us stepped in, turning back to its blue color. Our Sciences Instructor was standing in front of several holographic screens, waiting for us to sit down at our assigned seats. Six benches lined across the room to the end, each with perodical bars jutting from its surface, to serve as dividers. I sat down at my assigned seat, between Upsilon 56321 and Beta 83920. I looked behind myself. The seat where Pi 31415 would usually sit was empty. My thoughts returned to the unconscious kid in the cafeteria. I hoped someone had found him before the atomics were sent to clean it. I shook my head. Of course he would have been found by then.

A loud crack was suddenly heard from the front of the room, and we all turned to the screens. Our Sciences Instructor was holding the Rod in a menacing way. Anyone who didn't follow the protocol of the room would be hit with the Rod. I once was hit by the Rod. It felt like I was being hit with a hot, glowing pipe. As my thoughts wandered around, I noticed something different. There was now a large podium in front of the room, and on it was something that resembled a metal spine. It looked awfully familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Our Instructor walked up to the spine and spoke.

"Does anyone here know what this is?"

No-one answered. Scowling, the instructor shook his head, and spoke again.

"When I ask a question, I expect an answer from all of you, or one of you, if I am speaking to one person. Now, I will do this again. DOES ANYONE HERE KNOW WHAT THIS IS?"

Some of us jumped at his loudened voice. "NO SIR." We all replied in unison. The Instructor grinned, and spoke again.

"This here is what we call the leap from Larval stage to Adult stage. When all of you are of age, which will be in three decacycles, all of you will be equipped with this fastener. Because of certain evolutionary errors in our design, we lose the ability to stand on our two hind legs, and must resort to all four limbs near the adolescent stage. You should all know that losing the ability to use your hands to do anything would be a large disadvantage, am I correct?

It took us a moment to realize he was asking us a question. We all replied: "YES SIR."

Our instructor nodded his head, and continued on his lecture. "This fastener will keep you in an upright position for the rest of your life, as long as you keep it up to date. Every now and then, you will need to have it calibrated so that it stays on your back correctly. I am wearing the fastener as I speak."

He turned around, and as he said, there was a long metal strip with several segments in it embedded in his back. Many of my classmates murmured soft remarks, some in disgust. The Instructor quickly turned around and faced the class.

"I will let you know that it is an excruciatingly painful process, and that none of you will enjoy it. After all, it IS being attached to your spine, the central network of the nervous system. I recommend that you all practice Omega's Pain-Reduction Method during your free time before the application." He stepped away from the podium and tapped the holo-screens, activating our lesson.

"Now then, we will study the different properties of fuel gel and its monetary worth. Pay attention as I will test you next cycle about the lesson contents."

The lesson continued as we listened to our instructor go on about how fuel gel was very important and how expensive it was. I couldn't help but notice about how excursive he was on the subject.

* * *

I fell to the floor in pain. Having the wind knocked out of you was one thing, but being slammed into the wall right after was another. While I lay on the floor trying to catch my breath, Alpha 67902 stood above me, cracking his knuckles. Soon, the Instructor ran over to the two of us, and surveyed the scene.

"Good work, Alpha 67902, but I will remind you to try to keep the potentially fatal techniques out of combat practice."

Alpha 67902 rolled his eyes, and walked away to the shower room. The Instructor waited for me to recover, and approached me when I did.

"Let me check you for concerning injuries…"

He applied pressure to my arms, chest, and legs, to see if there was any skeletal damage, and finished satisfied.

"I must say, Delta 23831, you would make a fine training dummy; you're built like Bendezium. Unfortunately, just like Bendezium, you don't make a good fighter. What happened back there?"

I shook my head slowly. "I just couldn't beat him. Some of us aren't as good as the others."

The instructor shook his head as well. "Everyone here may not be as good as the others, but it's still good to know a few combat moves in order to protect yourself come the time. Of course, it would be just as good for you to be good at fighting need you have to kill someone…"

"I understand, Instructor. Next cycle, I will have galvanized my nerves to endure the pain."

"I don't think that was the problem, kid. You had the wind knocked outta ya. Focus more on protecting your gut." He stood there in thought for a moment. "Still, it would be wise to practice Omega's Pain-Reduction Method, since you're almost of age for the fastener…"

"I know. Our Sciences Instructor said it's gonna hurt like hell when we get it. It that true?"

"Oh yeah, definitely. Trust me when I say not even Omega's Method will save you from extreme pain like you've never felt before."

I swallowed nervously, and looked to the ground. The instructor noticed this, and smiled.

"Don't worry, kid, you've got at least 30 cycles to prepare for it. When I was your age, we weren't notified until it was too late." He laughed at this, and sighed. "Get to the showers, kid, you smell like a korakk." He pushed me lightly in the direction of the showers, and I headed there gloomily. When I got in, several others were finishing up their showers. I walked up to one of the stalls, and pressed a button on the wall. A timer was displayed, since water was considered a valuable resource, and somewhat hot water came spraying out of the nozzle. Allowing the water to wash away my sweat, I finished up quickly and left to the dryer. As I stepped into the drying room, wind blasted past my face in every direction. I continued through the room, allowing my body to dry off, and neared the door, causing it to open. I hurried through the halls of the complex to the final period of the day: roll call. Stumbling into the room as fast as possible, I was lucky enough that there was a large enough crowd in the room that no-one noticed my tardiness. Roll call was held in one of the larger rooms of the facility, since all six squads were stationed here at the end of lessons. The Head Instructor began to call out titles, and each individual replied with a raised hand when their title was called. After about a millicycle, roll call finished, and we were dismissed to our quarters.

Leaving the room, I began to wander the halls again for a bit, and finally made it to my quarters: a smallish room that served as my home. I opened the door with my key, which was inserted in the wall nearby, and looked around. I was allowed to arrange and keep personal objects in my room as I wished, but certain objects, such as weapons or harmful substances, were ot permitted. I currently had my room arranged in a rather simple manner. My bed sat against the farthest wall, with my desk close to it on the right. A large metal cube served as my chair, and was currently shoved underneath my desk. A stationary toilet sat in the corner nearest the door, along with a sink that only supplied up to five quarts of water a cycle. Embedded into the wall was a large digital clock that displayed time by millicycles and nanocycles. It was programmed with an alarm that could not be changed no matter what, since it woke me before lessons would start. I sat down on my bed, and looked at my calendar. The cycles of the tricenticycle were divided into decacycles, tridecacycles and then centicycles. This cycle happened to be the 234th cycle of the tricenticycle. I sighed. This cycle also happened to be the second cycle of the decacycle, which was a long time away from tenth cycle, our break cycle. Laying down on my bed, I closed my eyes. I had been in this facility for 48 centicycles already, since the day I was born. It depressed me in a way, since it felt like the entire first fourth of my life had been wasted. I yawned deeply; thinking about life made me tired. I got up, turned off my lights, and got into my bed. This was only a cycle in a huge procession of many others.

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well, that's the first chapter. please review!


	2. Freedom in a Caged World

Well, I know that this took FOREVER to get up...I hope people still like it...

I promise that when SATWE is at the end of the first part, I will focus on this more.

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Chapter Two: Freedom In a Caged World

Virtual Reality is interesting.

They have been training us for real combat now. No more sparring; it's now time for war, they say. They hook us up to large machines shaped like globes, designed to give us full range of motion. We hang from cables inside, to help our bodies feel like we are moving across ground or falling. All of it is so baffling, I don't even try to understand it anymore. I simply step up to the machine and put on the helmet. Inside the helmet, I see something unlike anything other. A world of green. There are hulking masses of what they call DIRT and ROCK. Large organic structures are everywhere, called TREES. And the ground is covered in millions of small trees, called GRASS. This is a totally new world for me, as badly rendered as it is. Then there are the mannequins. We are given a virtual gun to shoot at them with. Our main training missions right now are to guard our orbs from enemy fire by taking out the offensive team. That is our team mission. Sometimes we need to do solo missions, in case we were ever left alone. Those aren't too difficult, but we have been kept at a steady level for the moment.

There is also the ship training. Done in a similar machine, except that we are sitting this time, we pilot in a virtual reality space. This was also an interesting journey for me. The space is filled with darkness, and little lights that are called STARS. Our planet is in orbit around a star apparently, but I've never seen it. Our sky is too cloudy to see it, along with the other stars. During the training, we have to shoot at little flying triangles while steering around in space. After all of this, though, I don't remember the mannequins or the triangles or the bullets. I think about the Trees, and the Rocks, and the Sky, and the Stars. It was all amazing. I wonder if there is some place on our planet where the floor is green and fluffy, and the sky is blue, and the clouds are white. I want to sit on the dirt, feel what it's like. I want to sit under a tree, shaded from the starlight. It's all amazing.

All my thoughts always return to the vast expanses of green, though.

My only friend, Rho 33588, thinks I'm being mental. He says that there would be no way for there to be a place like that on our planet, since the acid rain would eat it all up. I sigh each time I hear this. I like the green. VR training is now my favorite lesson, regardless of the poor rendering and the exasperating mannequins.

Our Spine comes up in ten cycles. I am certain that I have perfected Omega's Pain-Reduction Method by now. I recently slammed my head into the wall of my room after preparing myself. I came out with a bloody lump on my head, but I didn't feel any pain on it for 50 millicycles. I've been seeing others doing the same thing lately. Some have even gone as far as cutting off their own fingers or toes. That must have given the medics headaches by reattaching their missing digits. I wonder how much the spine will hurt. I tried hitting my back onto the corner of my desk to see how it might hurt. I was cringing on the floor afterwards, even again after applying the reduction method. I gave up after a while. The pain was inevitable.

This cycle happened to be our tenth cycle of the decacycle, our free day. I didn't have much to do. I wanted to go to the VR machines, but they were restricted from casual use for now. I decided to visit our datastacks for the day. The datastacks were a large collection of information spanning many different species and cultures. According to the datastacks, other cultures might call them "libraries." Whatever they were called, they contained a great amount of interesting knowledge. "Knowledge is power," one of the files said once. I agreed greatly with that statement. As racist as our species could be at times, they had a deep adoration for the literary works and research of other cultures. I was currently adoring a story called "Treasure Island." It was yet another interesting adventure for me; a world filled with water and large rocks which trees grew on. I have almost finished it.

After deciding to stop reading for the moment, I stood up and ran into Rho 33588. I was surprised to see him here.

"Oh, I didn't know you were here, Rho."

"Oh, hey Delta. I was here to study some powerful pain-reduction techniques before next decacycle. What about you?"

"I gave up on that a while ago. It doesn't seem worth it anymore. I was reading this story here."

I handed him the Holo-Scroll for him to look at. It was regularly a simple rod when deactivated. But when turned on, it would project a floating screen out of one side, containing the text of the article. He looked at the title.

"Treasure Island, huh? What's an island?"

"It's a large rock surrounded by water on all sides."

"Wow, that's an enormous amount of water. Is the story good?"

"I think it is, at least. I've almost finished it…"

"Hm. Well, here you go." He handed the rod back, "After I return this, do you want to go do something together?" he asked.

"Um, sure. I need to return this, first…"

I departed from him toward the stack manager by the far desk. Handing him the rod once I got there, he pushed it into a clear tube, which shot it up into the stacks, which would sort it once inside. I walked away from the desk and found Rho a nanocycle later. He nodded to me, and we left the datastacks.

Walking through the corridors together, we spoke to eachother. Simple things, such as leesons and missing fingers and green fuzzy floors. He recommended that we visit the species collection. I thought his might be interesting. We traversed the halls to the tram station. Calling the tram, we waited patiently as it pulled into the station, and then we climbed aboard immediately. Pulling the activation lever, its doors closed, and the tram sped onto the next station, vibrating along the way.

After arriving, we went through more corridors, and we arrived at the species collection. According to the datastacks, other cultures would call this a "zoo."

I looked around for a bit, and then found myself looking at the gronkat tank. Small fuzzy creatures lived inside, with features similar to a creature that was found on other planets, called a "cat." I rather liked them. They had a quality that I couldn't put my finger on. It was similar to likeability, but it was some thing else. My eyes were drawn toward the small green and blue one. I had given this one a makeshift title of "Sampi." I knew that we were eventually allowed to keep a gronkat as a pet, but I wasn't of age yet. In ten cycles, though, I would most certainly ask to have Sampi. Rho walked up behind me, grinning.

"Looking at your little Sampi again?" He asked jokingly.

"Stop it, Rho. I like him. Don't you want a Gronkat?"

"I'd rather have something less hairy. Maybe a despined geemer…"

"Geemers are notorious for causing disease," I said, quoting a bit of information I read at the datastacks, "So you better clean it all the time when you get one." I caught a whiff of putrid air when he lifted his arms. "Though you may need to clean yourself more than it!" I said accusingly.

"Geez, stop it!" he said, he pushed me away jokingly. I pushed back, and we ended up causing a bit of a ruckus, frightening some of the animals. The supervisor saw this, and began to walk toward us menacingly. Seeing this, we escaped in a panic, laughing along the way.

I had known Rho since we were only 5 tricenticycles old. We had been friends through and through for 11 tricenticycles now, never being seperated. I knew that after we got the Spine, I wouldn't see him for a long time. We would be moved to outer colonies after our final cycles of lessons. I wasn't very excited about being seperated from him, but I was interested in seeing new planets. Seeing what was beyond that veil of clouds. Only a few more cycles to go.

* * *

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh!"

I leapt back from Xi 45820 as he shrieked out that terrible noise. My ear-slits now hurt a lot.

"And that's what I screamed when my Spine was put on. Even a tough one like me couldn't take it."

Xi really was a tough one. He had large muscles and a defining jaw. He could even lift ten of us at a time maximum. And he was only four tricenticycles older than me.

"Have you ever felt anything worse than that?" I asked earnestly.

"Not yet. I think the only thing that could be worse is removing it." He said with a grin.

I lurched inside queasily. "That just gave me shivers up and down my back. Wouldn't that remove your spinal cord?"

"Exactly. And that's why it would hurt so much." He whacked my back in the same spot I had stabbed myself with the corner of my desk. I yowled loudly, rubbing the spot tenderly.

"Hahaha! Soft-spine! That's ok, though, you'll soon be a steel-spine like me." He motioned for me to whack his back. I only hurt my own hand.

"Geez. That must be a Bendezium alloy."

"Bendezium-TALLORIC alloy, mister."

"Oh, ok."

"It's gonna hurt, softy. Better practice that Pain-Reduction Method. I recommend opening your Hura and Doto sections to distrubute the energy evenly."

"Hura and Doto? That's going to take a lot of focusing. They aren't even near eachother!"

"They cover your upper and lower spinal cord. It will help prevent much pain. But, it'll still hurt a lot. I had been perfecting my sections for cycles, too."

I grimaced. I wasn't looking forward to this one bit. We both departed from eachother, and I headed towards my room. As I did, however, I was surprised as a group of higher-ups ran past hurriedly. Curious, I followed them eagerly. As I followed them, I heard them talking.

"So, the general is coming today, huh?" one said.

"Yeah...I'm just a bit nervous about this." the one next to him said.

"Why is that?"

"Because he gives me the creeps!"

"Shush! You shouldn't talk about the general like that!"

"You don't understand. The fact that he's coming to the lessons building is really creepy. Why in the world would he want to come here in the first place?"

"I heard that he wants to see how those who are going to get the spine will hold during the operation. He's trying to see who is the strongest."

"That gives me even more creeps. Why cant he just leave the larva alone?"

"Well, seeing how much you know him, you should understand why General Ridley would want to see something like that..."

They ran off, and I stopped, since they were leaving into a restricted zone. I was trying to figure out who Ridley was. The name had been mentioned before, but I never new what he was, or what he looked like. If he was a general, then things might be interesting for a while. I decided to return to my room again.

Once I reached my room, walked up to my bed and sat down. I didn't feel like doing anything all of a sudden. I suppose it was because of the impending spine implant. I had been so invigorated throughout the cycle, but now, I suddenly felt odd. I looked at my clock. It was near the final millicycles of the cycle. I sighed. The cycle had gone by fast. I wondered what life after the spine would be like. I would leave this planet, then, and I could see all of the planets out there. The sky. The stars. The grass. The trees. All of it. I wanted to see it all so much. I just hoped that when I did, I wasn't being overwhelmed by our enemy. I thought for a bit. Who was our enemy, anyways? No-one had ever told me or anyone else who they were. I wondered if they were as amazing looking as everything else out there.

I looked at my calendar. This cycle was only 20 cycles away from the final cycle of lessons. But I was certain that the lessons wouldn't end there. I laid down in my bed, and looked upwards, imagining that I was on the planet of green again.

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Well, that's it. Please review!


	3. Our Difficult Situations, Part 1

Oh.

Ma.

Gawd.

I actually updated it. After a year.

So, yeah...It will most likely not be the same. but I'm trying! I'm very rusty on this story...

Enjoy?

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Chapter Three: Our Difficult Situations, Part One

I opened my eyes. Something was very wrong. The alarm on my clock had not gone off. I was frantic. I fell from my bedding and onto the floor, I stumbled quickly to the door, and leaped into the hallway outside. To my surprise, my friend Rho was standing there, holding a small canned drink in his claws. He gave me a strange look.

"Did you trip on the doorframe or something, Delta?"

I looked at him incredulously. "What is going on? Why didn't the morning alarms go off? Is there a state of emergency or something?"

Rho laughed. "No, no, Delta. One of the generals is visiting, and all of the higher ups were called to a massive meeting. Us soft-spines aren't required to go, however, so we get the cycle off, even though we're restricted to the living quarters..."

I stood up, and looked at Rho with confusion. I then looked at his drink. "Where did you get that?"

"Err, vending machine?" Rho scratched the back of his head peevishly.

"I'm getting one. I'm parched." I went into my room, and pulled out a box I kept by the side of my bed. I opened it, and inside, there were several pieces of metal with holes punched into them. I grabbed two of them, and headed out to meet Rho again. He gave me his trademark toothy grin, and we headed towards the vending machine down the hall. Once we got there, I looked at my choices. Nothing to drink actually had water in it: It was a special powder that was fine enough not to stick to the backs of our throats. It stimulates our salivation glands, causing the drinker to think they are drinking liquid. The powder also contained isolated hydrogen and oxygen, which would undergo a small chemical reaction in our stomachs to make water. While the reaction would normally cause an explosion, there is a harmless insulation that causes the heat expelled to dissipate. The result: a fake drink that makes your mouth water and your stomach warm. I chose the top one, which was a somewhat sour drink that made my throat tingle. I recalled what the datastacks called the flavor: lemon-lime. How flavorful these lemons were.

I took the metal pieces I had grabbed earlier, and popped one of them into a slot in the machine. They could be seen as a form of currency, but this one was restricted to us. We were given five of these "ration credits" every decacycle, and were encouraged to save them if possible. Each one was punched with a pattern of dots, the pattern representing who it was assigned to, so that the higher-ups could watch what we bought. I found it strange that they were so interested in every aspect of our lives, but in the end, it never got in the way.

I watched as my "drink" was presented from a hole in the machine, and I grabbed it immediately. As I drank the concoction, I noticed Rho was staring at me strangely. I stopped drinking for a second.

"What is it, Rho?"

Rho had apparently been in a trance. He snapped out of it quickly, "Oh, err, I was just thinking. Sorry if I bothered you."

I looked at him inquiringly. "What about?"

Rho suddenly became very nervous. "Nothing, really..." He thought for a moment. "Well, I was wondering how you wanted to spend the cycle. Feel like doing anything in particular?"

I lifted my hands in front of me in a way that implied emptiness: a common action among our people to represent not knowing something. "Well...how about we go to your room? I'm sure we could do something there..."

Rho became very frantic. "No! I mean, no. Why don't we go to yours instead? It's closer, anyways."

I suddenly knew there was something very strange about Rho. I scanned my thoughts, for I specifically recalled something about this behavior from one of the datascrolls I had read. Then it hit me: This was a symptom that one could display when they had emotional feelings of attraction to another being. I was slightly confused.

"Rho, what are you hiding?"

Rho looked at me guiltily. "Nothing. Nothing at all. Why do you think I'm hiding something?"

"Because of your body language." I said with a smirk on my face. He was standing in a way that made him look injured. "I'm going to your room."

Rho's eyes widened. "NO! Please!"

I ran off to his room, trying to make sure I got there first. Knowing him, he never locked his door, so I could see what he was hiding. Reaching his room, and Rho in frantic pursuit, I opened the door and stepped inside to be greeted by one of the most amazing things I had ever seen. Rho caught up to me, and looked horribly crestfallen when he saw that I had breached his room. I looked at him with a feeling of awe.

"Rho...what is this?"

On the wall next to his bed, there was a sheet of metal fastened on with bolts. On the metal, someone had etched in the image of one of our kind. It was incredibly accurate, and every muscle and limb was so well detailed that I almost took it to be a digital image. I stepped up close to the image, and noticed that the figure had a name-collar on his neck. I looked carefully, and I could read what it displayed: Delta 23831. I spun around to face the guilty-looking Rho.

"This is an image of me! How...did you...what...huh." I didn't know what to say. Rho looked at me, looking like he was ready for capital punishment.

"I'm sorry, Delta...now you know." -Know what?- I thought.

"You see, Delta, I had found a datascroll in the stacks recently...one that detailed something very interesting to me: a practice that was initiated by many other cultures called 'art'. This 'art' is the generation of either images or structures by solely a living being. The generation of the art is usually fueled by the artist's need to create something that represents part of their mind. I was intrigued by this idea, and I tried it out myself. However, only a few cycles later, I discovered that art had been banned in our society, for it distracts from main goals. However, even though I knew this..."

"You continued anyways, and finished it by the looks of it." I finished his sentence.

Rho nodded his head weakly. "Yeah..."

I looked at Rho, and grinned. "You know I'd never sell you out on something like this, Rho. In fact, I really, really like this!" I looked back up at the picture. In the picture, I was standing at an angle from the viewer, my left arm down by my side, and my right arm outstretched. My head in the picture was tilted, looking calmer than I ever would be. I looked back at Rho.

"There is one thing I want to know...why did you use me as a subject for your art?"

Rho held his hands out. "I...I don't know, actually. I guess I thought you would be easy to draw? Maybe it's because I saw you often? I had plenty of reference?"

I shook my head. "Rho, this could have been anyone in this entire building. But, for some strange reason, you decided to make it me, by adding the name collar to the picture. So why...?"

Rho shook his head. "I...I don't know. I guess you're the only person I'd want to have that picture represent?"

We both looked back at the sheet of metal. Silence filled the room for a moment, causing my ears to ring. I decided to change the subject. Something was going on with Rho, but I decided to leave it be.

"Well, I think it would be good if we hid the picture, am I right? We don't want someone like me coming in and seeing this on the wall."

Rho seemed disappointed at first, but then he nodded. "Very well. I got this sheet of metal from underneath my mattress, so we can put it back there."

We lifted his mattress together, carefully removed the picture from the wall, and gently placed the picture in the frame of the bed. Then, we lay the mattress carefully on top, and the picture was hidden from view. Rho stared at his bed for a moment, then grinned. He looked at me with a genuinely happy look on his face.

"Thanks, Delta. Not just for helping me, but for understanding me as well."

I nodded. "So then, what do you want to do for the rest of the cycle?"

He held his hands out again. "I really don't know. Sleep?"

I laughed, and he joined in on the laughter. I began to exit the room, but before I did so, I turned and faced Rho for a moment.

"Hey, Rho...do you possibly have..."

He looked at me inquiringly. "What is it?"

I stood there, and decided to leave it be. "Nevermind. I'll see you later I guess." I closed the door behind me, and left towards my room. I decided to not ask him about that attraction thing I read about. I had already found the source of his anxiety from earlier, so it was unlikely to be what I assumed it to be.

* * *

However, I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like for someone to emotionally attached to me.

I opened my eyes. Looking at my clock, I saw that it was still the same cycle. I got up from my bed, and felt a bit strange. Lonely, perhaps. I decided to pursue the cause of my loneliness. I got up from my bed, and exited my room into the hallway. I looked around me, and to my surprise, I saw my acquaintance Xi. I ran over to him eagerly.

"Hey, Xi! What are you doing down here?"

He looked at me, and grinned. "Nothing much. Actually...perhaps I could be looking for you."

"Me?" I was confused. "Why me, of all people?"

"Well, I was planning a venture into the mines later...and I was wondering if anyone would want to come along. What do you say?"

"The mines?" I was a bit worried. "There really isn't a rule against going down there, but they tell us that it is extremely dangerous to enter them."

Xi grinned again. "And that is exactly why I want to go down. You have to admit, our life is rather boring. Why not spruce it up a bit?"

I thought for a moment. There really wasn't a rule against exploring the mines. Some people would actually applaud the safe passage through them. Small creatures, such as zoomers and geemers, could be found down there. However, there were bigger hazards as well, such as malfunctioning guard turrets and stray kihunters. The kihunters were a strange occurrence, since they had hatched here long ago and began to propagate deep within the caves. Our kind has not bothered to exterminate them yet; something about trying to tame them and keep them as a part of our society. I thought over it for a moment, and decided that it would be alright to delve into the cave.

"I guess I'll come with, then...but, I was wondering if I could bring Rho with."

Xi looked at me with eyes that seemed to laugh. "Are you kidding me? The more, the better! Bring whoever you want!"

"Alright then, I'll go get him." I ran off towards Rho's room for the second time this cycle, and knocked on the door. Rho opened the door carefully, showing only his head, hiding the rest of his body and the room. I looked at him strangely.

"It's only me, Rho. No need to hide anything from me, right? I thought you were going to hide that picture..." I tried to peek around the door, but Rho kept me from seeing either him or the room.

"What do you want, Delta? I thought you were sleeping."

"I thought you were too...what are you doing in there...?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Rho was a bit firm on the matter. "What is it you wanted again?"

I coughed a bit. "Well, Xi passed by earlier, and asked if I wanted to come down to the mines with him." Rho's eyes narrowed. I looked at him curiously again. "I told him I would go down with him, but I asked him If I could bring you with. He said there was no problem with that. So...want to come?"

Rho stood there thinking for a moment. "Yeah, sure. Bored anyways." He closed the door, and after a brief moment, he came back out of the room, not bothering to hide it this time. What was he hiding earlier? I couldn't tell. Regardless of what Rho was doing, I guided him to where Xi was. Xi smiled when he saw me, and nodded at Rho. Rho, seeing Xi, frowned for some reason. I began to wonder if there was an issue between the two of them, and worried if I made the right choice in bringing him. Xi didn't notice Rho's dissent, however, and looked directly at the two of us.

"Alright then! Get ready for what I like to call the 'Initiation Test', guys. Because this little journey is going to be nothing close to what you expect." He grinned even wider than before, and I began to wonder if this was such a good idea still.

* * *

So, yeah! note how the chapter was labeled "part one." There will be an end to this little trip, so don't worry.

And what's up with Rho? Did I slip in some Homo-eroticism? huh.

Seeya next time! and review! please?


	4. Our Difficult Situations, Part 2

Dang. This is a huge chapter. I mean, 4500+ words! Yikes.

Well, here's me hoping this chapter doesn't drag on or anything!

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Four: Our Difficult Situations, Part Two

* * *

I looked around the corner of the next hallway, and looked back behind me. Xi and Rho were watching around themselves very carefully. Rho was still annoyed with Xi for some reason, however. I didn't have time to be concerned with that, though, because I was more worried about being seen. Our security system is more geared to take our own kind down if it sees something suspicious going on, and at the moment, our group was extremely suspicious. I did not see any security turrets stationed in the next hall, however, and I motioned to the others to hurry up. They ran down to the next corner and waited there. I ran up next to them, looking behind me still. I would have probably not been as frustrated with this stealth if this cycle was any other cycle. However, this cycle was one where we were restricted to our living quarters, and if we were caught sneaking around like this, we would be in massive trouble. Rho saw my worry on my face, and gave me a slight smile. I smiled back a little bit. Xi was not worried at all, however, and he seemed entirely prepared for whatever got in our way. He looked around the corner, and I heard him speak.

"Alright, guys, the next part is going to be a bit tricky..."

I was a bit confused. "Why? What are we going to have to do?"

Xi frowned. "Well, there are three ways to the abandoned mine entrance. The first way is through normal customs, which normally would not be a problem, but at the moment, this is not normal, and we'd be caught. The second way is through the tram tunnel, but the only way we could get into the tunnel is if we called a tram, squeezed past it to get past the open door, and hope to not get electrocuted or smashed by another tram." I frowned at both of them. Punishment or death. Not easy choices to choose between.

"What was the third option?" I was still certain there would be an easier way.

Xi gestured down the hall to the door at the end. "Well, the last way is through the acid rain. There's a large gaping hole outside that had been eaten away over time, and it's across the outside plaza. However, We'd have to be very careful of course, as it's acid rain. Very acidic acid rain."

I thought over it for a moment. Capture was possibly the worst, as punishment is one of our society's favorite hobbies. Death, of course, is always bad, but if we were careful enough, we could avoid getting electrocuted. The third option seemed the best, however. Pain is durable, and even though we would sustain heavy scarring if we were entirely exposed, I decided it was better than the other options. I spoke up nervously.

"I think the best way is through the acid rain. If we stay to the sides and under other platforms, we should be shielded enough. Worst case scenario, we lose a portion of our flesh. Most likely, however, we'll only burn our feet a little bit."

Rho thought it over, and finally nodded. "Yeah, I think that'll work out well also."

Xi nodded. "Alright then, we'll go through the plaza. Be careful, though. Acid burns don't go away. Ever."

I nodded. "Better than death or intense punishment, though."

Xi held his hands upturned. "Whatever you say. Let's go."

He walked down to the door at the end of the hall, and touched it with one of those pulse shockers, removing the shield and opening the hatch. We ran up to him and stepped outside carefully. It was extremely cold outside, and I immediately began to feel nauseous. Our species is cold-blooded, as my Sciences instructor told us. That meant that outside temperatures could change the temperature of our blood. Warm temperatures were always best for us, but colder ones could put us into shock if we stayed in it too long. That was yet another thing the metal spine helped with: it regulated our bodily environment and kept our body temperature steady. I was really wishing for that spine at the moment. I shivered, and looked at Xi and Rho. Rho was also shivering, holding onto his body, trying to conserve any heat he had. Xi was also cold, but only a bit because of his spine; he was protected from any more danger. He looked at us and frowned.

"C'mon, guys. Once we get into the mines, it'll be much warmer. all we have to do is get across that." He pointed at the plaza. On the opposite side, a hole that was big enough for a large person had been eaten into the metal wall. In between it and us was a brown and sizzling expanse of metal, being continuously struck by the acidic rain that caused it to look that way. I was a bit concerned. Looking around, I saw that the very edges of the plaza floor were still the same rusty-red color the insides of the buildings around us were. That meant that there was no rain landing there. I crept up to the wall, and began to sidle very carefully. Rho began to protest, but then saw what I was doing, and joined in. Soon, all three of us were sidling along the wall, watching our toes to make sure nothing landed on them. I looked up at the ridge above us, and could see acid rain dripping from the edges. As I watched, one drop fell and landed directly on my shoulder. I yelled out, and tried to refrain from jumping in pain. I quickly wiped up the drop, spreading it so that it wasn't concentrated in one place. The area where it hit was a bit paler than before, leaving me a bit depressed at this fact. Rho looked at me with concern on his face, but I shook my head, to inform him there was nothing to worry about. He nodded, and we kept sidling across. My feet were beginning to feel numb from the cold, and my hands as well. I could even swear that my nostrils had become frozen on the inside, but with remnants of acid on my fingers, I did not want to stick them in there to find out. I could see the opening nearing us as we crept closer. The hole had been eaten away by the acid rain, and because of this, an outcropping had been installed above it to avoid any more erosion. I found it amusing that no-one had thought about closing up the hole as well. Luckily for us, this mistake would allow us into the caverns below. Xi pushed past me carefully, climbed onto the edge of the hole first, and looked down. He surveyed his possible descent, and jumped nimbly below. I quickly sidled to the hole and climbed onto its edge, looking to see what happened to Xi. I could see his dark green form faintly in the darkness. He looked up at me, and I could see his glowing eyes burning brightly in the darkness. He called out to me.

"Delta! It's safe to jump down. I'll catch you if you're worried." I could see him grin in the darkness.

I rolled my eyes. "No, I think I'll try to make it down myself." I made sure to sound as sarcastic as possible. Looking down again, I leaped into the darkness, spinning around a bit, before I landed onto my feet, toes first. I felt a bit of pain jolt through my thighs, and I grunted a bit in reaction. I looked up for a moment, and could see Rho attempting to climb onto the edge of the hole precariously. As we watched, Rho suddenly yelled in surprise, and he slipped on the edge, falling towards us with increasing speed. Xi saw this, and ran forwards quickly underneath Rho, catching him at the last second. Xi grunted under Rho's weight.

"Gah! Ugh, are you alright, Rho?"

Rho struggled to get out of Xi's arms as quickly as possible. "Yes, I'm FINE. Could you let GO of me?"

Xi's eyes widened in surprise, his feelings obviously hurt. "Well sorry. Just trying to make sure you don't DIE."

Rho scoffed. "Whatever."

I watched this little quarrel off to the sides. I wasn't exactly sure what the problem was between them, but I was too enthralled by the vast, wide chamber of the cave we were in. Everything was made of stone, which I was familiar enough with, but it still amazed me all the same. I looked to a far-off tunnel, and could see objects crawling in the darkness. Even though my luminescent eyes helped see in the darkness by a certain extent, it was extremely difficult to see things in the dark distance. I called out to Xi, who had already began to ignore Rho, who was still annoyed with him.

"Xi, do you happen to have a light source with you by chance? It's hard to see what's in here..."

Xi nodded, and he un-clipped a small disk from the harness on his chest. It began to give off a bright light all over, and the cavern was illuminated, allowing us to see what was around ourselves. Rho squinted in the light.

"So, Xi, what did you bring us down here for anyways?" Rho was slightly less annoyed with Xi at this moment.

Xi grinned. "We're going on a bit of an adventure. There is an exit to this cavern that will prove hard to get to. What we need to do is survive and escape as quickly as possible."

I was suddenly very nervous. "Survive? What do you mean by-"

Xi laughed. "Well, I did say it would be dangerous. The truth is, this is your final exam before you earn your spine. I've been selected as your instructor in this moment, and this test has been ordered by High General Ridley."

That was the second time I had heard that name: Ridley. I still did no know who that was, but I did not care at the moment. "This is a test? I've never heard of this before. When did-"

Xi interrupted. "I know what you're going to ask. Ridley began these tests exactly this cycle. You notice how everything was quiet earlier? It's because of the tests. Several other groups are in this cavern right now, and others in different caverns. The main goal for each each us is to reach the main cavern mouth. You guys already passed the first part of the test, which was to try to reach the cave safely and successfully."

Rho was thinking, as I could see. "But why did you help me after I fell then, if you're my instructor?"

Xi held his hands upturned. "Well, I hadn't explained everything at that time, so I thought it would be unfair to treat you as if I did not need to without any warning."

I nodded at this, and was suddenly startled by a distant cry, as if someone had been injured. I was worried.

"Xi, we wouldn't happen to be allowed...weapons, would we?" I was very nervous now, as I had never expected that I would be in danger like this before.

Xi nodded. "Yeah, but they aren't projectile arms of any kind. Here."

He tossed both me and Rho something that looked like a wrist-band, made of metal. It had a protruding part that had a slit carved into the surface. We both put them on our wrists, and to our surprise, a metal extension stretched out and linked to our elbow. I was curious of what this was.

"Xi...what exactly do we do with this?"

He held out his own wrist, which had a slightly more advanced version of the device wrapped around it. "This is your standard-issue plasma blade, designed to provide a source of protection and also serve as an emergency weapon when needed. It can also slice practically anything, except for energy-based objects, like shielding and similar things."

With his arm still extended, a beam of light shot forth and stopped about an arms length from its source, creating a shape that resembled a machete. I held out my own arm, and with a simple thought, my own plasma blade was activated as well. Rho followed suit, and we all stood there with our weapons ready. I looked to the distant tunnel, and I looked back at Xi.

"Are we going to begin our test, then?"

Xi grinned. "Indeed. We shall begin by going this way. Stay alert." He began to walk towards the tunnel, and we followed, unsure of what was to happen. Rho stayed close to me. Even in the darkness, I could tell he was no longer glaring angrily at Xi, but I could tell by his body language he was still annoyed with him. I scanned my memories for a hint of what he was feeling, referring to what I read in the datastacks. From what I could observe, he was displaying...jealousy? What did Rho have to be jealous about? I let it slide for now, and we followed Xi into the darkness.

* * *

Fact about the darkness: it's dark. I tried to remember this as well as I could. I knew it was silly to try to remember something as obvious at this, but in reality, I had underestimated the darkness by a large amount. Even Xi's light and my plasma blade were insufficient to keep things bright enough. I looked around carefully. I could hear things crawling in the darkness, things chewing on unidentifiable things. I heard a loud snap from behind me, and something fell from the roof of the tunnel at my feet. I cried out in surprise, and stabbed whatever it was with my plasma blade. The thing squirmed under my force, and the light from my weapon revealed that it was a zoomer, now with a large stab wound through its belly. I quickly pulled my weapon from its body, but it was too late. The creature was dead. I was mortified. I had killed a living creature, that would have normally done no harm to me, all out of fear. Rho saw what I did, and looked at my face. I'm certain he saw an expression of sheer horror, since he gave me a face that signified sympathy. Xi looked at me, and then looked at the dead zoomer.

"I will admit, when I killed something for the first time, I was absolutely horrified." I could see his face, and it showed remorse. "In our lifetime, we'll be killing many different creatures and beings, as we are a state of war. This is one of the requisites to pass the test: to show you can kill and survive, as well as move on." He looked at the dead zoomer, and to my surprise, his face became stern, and he kicked the corpse to the side of the cave. I could hear it hit the cavern wall with a resounding sticky thud, filling my stomach with nausea. I doubled over, and I promptly threw up at my feet. Rho backed away from my puddle of vomit as quickly as possible. I stood where I was for a moment, and I stood up. Xi looked at me with a concerned expression on his face.

"You ready to move on? You can come back to this test another time if you need to. There is no penalty in coming back later, other than getting the spine later than the others."

I coughed a bit, and wiped up what was left on my face with my wrist. "I'm not giving up. There will be obstacles in this test, right? This is one of them. I need to work past these barriers." I looked at Rho for a moment. "You can do the same, right, Rho?"

Rho was a bit surprised by my comment. He stammered a reply. "Uh-um...yeah. I'll follow you through this all the way, Delta."

Xi looked at the both of us with a grin on his face. "Your training is going to pay off here, soft-spines. Don't forget any of it." He looked towards the direction we were headed. "It looks like we'll be in the largest cavern soon. We have some lights already installed there, which will benefit us greatly. Be careful, however. Kihunters are situated there. Other groups have gone through there already, however, so there may not be as many left..."

I swallowed my saliva with a hard gulp. I wasn't going to back down here. With my plasma blade still extended, I began to walk quickly towards this upcoming room. Xi and Rho chased after me. I could see faint light up head, around the next turn of the tunnel, and I began to increase my pace. As soon as I reached the end of the tunnel, I saw the massive room that greeted us. Its floor was comparable to a chasm, except that it had a bottom to its depth. Rock formations that were similar to bridges arched above us. Near the top, there was a large opening bordered by metal: it seemed to be a doorway. I looked around some more, and I could hear Rho and Xi coming up behind me. As I searched the room, I saw two things that concerned me. The first one was a large purple sack that hung from a distant wall of the cave. The second thing that concerned me was that there was another test group of four that was unknowingly passing underneath the sack. I looked to Xi with concerned feelings.

"Xi, is that a...Kihunter hive?"

Xi frowned. "I believe it is...and seeing that the hive has not shriveled up yet, then the Kihunter king must still be alive, and is most likely still controlling the worker drones..."

I was extremely nervous. "A hive of that size would have many workers...enough to entirely annihilate that exam group down there. What are we-"

Xi interrupted. "Nothing. We do nothing. They will have to find a way to survive on their own." He was stern on the matter, but I could see that he was worried as well. Rho looked like he was about to vomit. He neared closer to me and watched the distant group with fear. The group was climbing on a cliff that was lit up with small light rods, enough to illuminate the cliffside entirely. Once they reached the top, they paused for a moment, and then they moved forward. As I continued to watch, I saw a large red and green insectoid creature climb out from the entrance of the hive. It began to emit a shrill shriek that could be heard where we stood. The group below heard it, and they began to panic. They activated their plasma blades, and prepared for the incoming attack. Around five or six more Kihunters emerged from the crevices of the hive, and they flew toward the group with immense fury. One of the testers sliced one of the Kihunters in two as it flew past him, but he did not see another one come towards him. It wrapped its arms around him, and as I watched him flail in desperation, He fell off of the cliff, bringing him and the Kihunter to their death. I was mortified, but I kept watching. I could tell that Rho had closed his eyes already, however. Xi just looked on with a look of sadness in his eyes. Their shouts were finally audible to us, and I unwillingly listened to their frantic cries and calls for help. Their instructor had already been impaled with the claw of another Kihunter, and he was bleeding profusely on the floor, barely hanging on to his life. The two others were dodging the charging Kihunters as well as they could. One was knocked on the backside of his head by the leg of a passing Kihunter, and he fell to the floor. Two other Kihunters landed on him, and I couldn't tell what they were doing, but I was certain they were eating him alive. The screams and cries of the fallen tester filled the cavern, and I winced in pain and disgust as I saw his detached arm fly loose from where he lay at the moment. Another Kihunter came by and picked up the spoils, and I felt like I was going to vomit again. The last tester remaining, however, had evaded the attention of the Kihunters. He had began to climb the cliff nearest the hive, and was now ascending the side of the hive itself. He was locating the parts of the hive that kept it attached to the wall, and he was slicing them away with his plasma blade. The hive began to shift, and the Kihunters' attention was torn away from their meals to the impending danger to their hive. They flew as fast as they could to their home, but the tester was too fast for them. He sliced the final connection, and the hive lurched and fell to the ridge of the cliff. He jumped off of the hive as quickly as possible, and the hive fell to the chasm floor below, filling the room with a loud, wet smack that rung the ears. The screams of mutilated Kihunters echoed from the pit, making me feel both disturbed and relieved. Rho had opened his eyes, and he smiled when he saw the survivor standing on the edge of the cliff, who was looking below for any more signs of Kihunters. I looked to Xi with a grin on my face, but he was solemn. I was suddenly concerned.

"Xi, what's wrong?"

Xi looked at me, and I could see despondence in his eyes.

"He might have won against the Kihunters, but there's a major problem: his instructor is dead." He pointed to the corpse impaled with the Kihunter claw, and I could see that his eyes had indeed stopped glowing, a sign of death among our kind. I looked back at Xi, who was beginning to look for a way to ascend the cavern walls.

"What does that mean, Xi? Does it mean that..."

Xi nodded "Yeah. If your instructor is not with you, or is dead, when you reach the end of the test, you'll be refused the spine and will have to go through a full centicycle of maintenance work before you can earn it again. You would also have to take the test again after the 100 cycles."

Rho's eyes widened, as did mine. We looked at each other with a feeling of horror. If Xi died, or went missing, we would have to perform maintenance work. When we first learned of the maintenance system very long ago, we did not think of it to be a bad thing. However, we then discovered that the maintenance duties were a form of cruel servitude, in which the workers were attacked with various weaponry if they did not perform dutifully, and the types of people down there were comparable to people who were insane. I swallowed nervously, and looked to the distant tester. He had tried to awaken his instructor, and he was obviously going under a mental breakdown. He was slamming his head onto the wall of the cavern repeatedly, and was clutching his head, yelling in fear. He looked around desperately, and he saw us. I could barely hear him call out to us.

"You, up there! Please, take me with you! I don't want to work in maintenence! Save me!" He was close to hysterics.

Xi heard this, and I looked at him with a feeling of hope. "Xi, can we take him with? Please tell us we can! We can vouch for him, say what happened to his group!"

Xi frowned. "It is true that we can vouch for him, but there is a major issue. Where he is cannot be reached by the route we are taking. In fact, it is impossible to get to him from here at all. The only thing we could do is meet him at the top and continue from there."

"Well, can't we do that?"

Xi thought over it. "We'd have to be quick. He most likely reeks of Kihunter. If there were Kihunters on patrol around the cave before he destroyed the hive, and they come back to see it missing, They'd go after whatever smells like Kihunter, which would include the remains of the hive down there, and him." Xi looked down to the chasm below, and the writhing legions of Kihunter larva and remains could be heard screaming out in pain. "Not to mention, if any Kihunters survived down there, they'd be madder than anything you've seen before."

I didn't think twice about it. "Well then, what are we waiting for? We should tell him the plan!" I ran up to the edge of the chasm, and I called out to the distant tester.

"HEY! Meet us up at the top, and we'll get you through! Be careful, though! The Kihunters will chase you now, so stay alert!"

He looked up at me, and he nodded to what I said. I watched him run to the nearest wall, and he began to ascend it, climbing up to the exit of the cavern. I looked to Xi and Rho.

"So it seems that we have a mission now."

Xi held his hands upturned. "Rescue missions are rather...peculiar, in our society. In fact, we usually don't even bother with rescuing people. Ever."

I rolled my eyes. "We'll get this done. Survival includes being able to depend on people you trust, right? He depends on us."

Xi held his hands upturned again, and he began to climb the wall that would lead us to a higher ledge. Rho followed, and I began to climb the wall as well. I looked behind me at the other trainee, but he had disappeared. I hoped that he would be safe.

* * *

Huh. Looks like I managed to turn this chapter into a three-parter, huh? Welp, stay tuned! More action to come!

Seeya next time!


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